When her EMS dog Scout went missing in the woods, Whistler, B.C. resident Kate O'Sullivan was devastated – but determined to find him.
“I had lost hope a few days ago, I truly thought he was gone,” O’Sullivan said in a statement posted on Scout’s Instagram account Saturday night. “But we still couldn’t stop the search.”
Scout, a three-year-old goldendoodle, ran off from a dog walker on Feb. 5 on Soo River Road.
O’Sullivan's efforts to find the pooch were herculean: she set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $7,400, bloodhounds were employed through Petsearchers Canada, an ad was placed in the paper, a $1,500 reward was offered and a helicopter was even sent out – but there was still no sign of Scout.
Then on Saturday, nearly three weeks later, O’Sullivan received a miraculous phone call: a woman said she had found the EMS dog on the side of the highway in Pemberton.
“I was in shock and it didn’t make sense,” wrote O’Sullivan. “I didn’t believe her.”
But it was true: O’Sullivan went straight to the scene, and found Scout inside the Good Samaritan’s car.
“I stopped the car, ran down the road like a sobbing mess and he was there,” she said.
Scout is currently in “fragile” condition: he’s very skinny, his feet are raw, and he’s on antibiotics – but it looks like he will pull through.
The Good Samaritan who found the dog refused to accept the reward, instead saying “from one dog mama to another” she was glad Scout was found.
Any extra money raised from the GoFundMe page will be donated to the Whistler Animal Shelter or used to help others who have lost a pet, O’Sullivan adds.
“Thank you so much to everyone who shared, posted, sent positive vibes, kind words, searched and had to deal with me over the past three weeks,” said O’Sullivan. “It is a miracle, like winning the lottery. But better.”
